9월 모평 영어, 작년보다 쉬웠다…‘역대 최다’ N수생·사탐런 변수

Last month's English practice test for the upcoming 2027 university entrance exams showed that the subject was easier than last year, according to analysis of the final mock exam. The same was true for other subjects, with only a slight increase in difficulty compared to the 2026 exams. However, with more second-year and re-taking students entering the system this year, students should consider the minimum academic requirements for college admissions when preparing for the college entrance exam.

Kim Jin-seok, a teacher at Jeongseon Secondary School and general coordinator of the September mock exam briefing, said that the exam pattern has remained the same, giving students a chance to prepare for the exam without confusion. The English section was deemed the easiest compared to last year's entrance exam and the June mock exam.

Jeong Seong-yeong from Yongeul High School noted that last year's English exam had many abstract concepts, but this year's exam had more common words, making it significantly easier. Last year's English top score was 147 points, a record low since the introduction of the selective college entrance exam. This year's English top score was 132 points, only 15 points lower than last year.

Mathematics was also considered to be at a similar level to last year's exam. The highest score in last year's mathematics exam was 139 points, the lowest since the introduction of the selective college entrance exam. This year's top-scoring question in mathematics was slightly easier than the June mock exam. Of the 501,280 applicants, 38,203 (77.6%) were second-year and re-taking students, a decrease of 22,007 from last year.

However, third-year students and those taking the college entrance exam increased to 11,192 (22.4%), the highest proportion since 2011. The growing number of third-year students will likely lead to a higher cutoff for college admissions. Kim Jin-seok also noted that "this year, the feasibility of passing the college entrance exam by score will be important due to the decrease in second-year students."

The "sociotesting" trend, where science exploration students opt for the relatively easier social exploration section, has become more pronounced. The share of social explorations among all exploration applicants increased to 67.6% from 60.7% last year, but the education broadcasting teachers' union deemed the "sociotesting" phenomenon a common strategy and not a major variable for this year's college entrance exam.